Registration and numbers in Paraguay: carnet, cédula and RUC, in that order
In Paraguay your paperwork revolves around three documents. First the carnet de residencia from the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. With it you get the cédula, the Paraguayan identity card, from the police. And only with that cédula can you register with the DNIT tax authority for a RUC, because your cédula number becomes your tax number.
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In Paraguay you arrange your numbers in a fixed order, because each document opens the next. First the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) gives you the carnet de residencia. With it you apply to the police for the cédula, the Paraguayan identity card. And you need that cédula for the RUC, your registration with the DNIT tax authority. Your cédula number also becomes your tax number there.
| Document | Where | Valid | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnet de residencia precaria | DNM, with your application | 90 days, once | included in the residencia fee |
| Carnet de residencia temporal | DNM | up to 2 years | 2,926,925 guaraní |
| Carnet de residencia permanente | DNM | indefinite, renew after 10 years | 2,926,925 guaraní |
| Cédula de identidad | Policía Nacional, Identificaciones department | as long as your residencia temporal, or 10 years | |
| Certificado de radicación | DNM, also online | 234,154 guaraní | |
| RUC, tax number | DNIT, online in Marangatu |
What is the carnet de residencia?
The proof that you may live in Paraguay. While your application is running, you hold a carnet de residencia precaria. The law grants it once, for 90 days. Then you receive the carnet of the residencia temporal, and after two years that of the residencia permanente. How to apply is covered in the residence routes.
If you need a statement that you live in Paraguay, for instance for a bank or a Dutch authority, you ask the DNM for a certificado de radicación. That can be done at the counter or online through the government portal paraguay.gov.py, with a certified copy of your carnet.
How do you get the cédula?
Ley 6984 obliges the Policía Nacional to give foreigners with a residencia temporal or permanente a cédula. The Identificaciones department issues it. A first application falls under Resolución 717 of 2026 of the police. Foreign documents that are not in Spanish must be translated by a sworn translator. In some cases the police may invite you for an interview and ask for additional documents. If you do not speak Spanish or Guaraní, you bring an interpreter.
A temporary resident's cédula is valid for as long as his residencia, and is extended when that is extended. With the residencia permanente you get a cédula valid for ten years. A permanent resident no longer has to show his carnet: the cédula is then your identity document.
You collect it yourself, with the receipt, the contraseña. Someone else can collect it for you with a notarial power of attorney. A cédula with an electronic signature is always collected by the holder in person.
Do not start at the DNIT or the bank. Without a Paraguayan cédula you get nowhere in Marangatu, the tax authority's system: for a foreigner the DNIT asks for an identity document issued in Paraguay.
When do you need a RUC?
The RUC is the registration as a taxpayer. You apply online in Marangatu and upload your documents there as pdf files, with both sides of your cédula. Since 2023 a foreigner with a residencia gets the number of his cédula as RUC.
Whether you need it depends on your income in Paraguay. Anyone working in Paraguay as self-employed also shows his registration when switching to the residencia permanente. Wages, rent and the thresholds are covered in working in Paraguay; the tax on your Dutch income in AOW, pension and tax in Paraguay.
When are you a tax resident?
The DNIT writes in its frequently asked questions that a person is a tax resident if he holds the residencia permanente. So that only happens after the temporary years. If in doubt, have it confirmed how that works out for your situation.
What do you arrange on the Dutch side?
You deregister from the municipality before you leave. There is an honorary consul of the Netherlands in Asunción. He can stamp pre-printed life certificates, for instance for the SVB or the ABP. If you have no pre-printed form, the Dutch embassy in Buenos Aires draws up the certificate; you go there in person for it.
How these steps follow each other in your first weeks is set out in the first weeks in Paraguay and in the route to Paraguay.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Paraguay or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the residencia temporal and the right to a cédula — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the residencia permanente, with a ten-year cédula — migraciones.gov.py
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — the certificado de radicación, also online — migraciones.gov.py
- Ley 6984/2022 de Migraciones, articles 57, 62 and 63 — residencia precaria and the cédula for foreigners (BACN) — bacn.gov.py
- Policía Nacional — the cédula for foreigners, first application (Resolución 717/2026) — policianacional.gov.py
- DNIT — Resolución General 34/25, the documents for a RUC, for foreigners a cédula issued in Paraguay — dnit.gov.py
- DNIT — foreigners with a residencia get their cédula number as RUC — dnit.gov.py
- DNIT — frequently asked questions, who is a tax resident — dnit.gov.py
- NederlandWereldwijd — the honorary consul in Asunción and the embassy in Buenos Aires — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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